Is seller negative feedback a deal-breaker ?

Depends on the market.

Negative feedback will have less influence during a slow market, and more influence during a fast market when more options are available.

I wouldn't let it turn me away if it was a lone negative among many positives. I know that I personally had a bad experience as a seller here on Audiogon with a real psycho. Even though he was unreasonable and dishonest in our transaction, I just wanted to protect myself and my positive feedback, so I let him have his way. My point is that sometimes, a good seller will get a bum rap from a bad buyer, and vice versa.

Yes. I wouldn't buy from anyone with any negative feedback.

Sonic,

My philosophy is as follows. I generally deal with buyers who have a high feedback rating. They are usually regulars on Audiogon and are usually equipment horses that change horses quite often. Most have a few negative feedbacks,usually from a purchase in which they changed their mind or the shipper damaged the product. READ THE FEEDBACK!! make sure most of their transactions have been within the last year. Also get a physical address and a phone number and do a little research in the phone book. Most cheats will use false information.

YMMV,

Johnny

I'd agree that reading the comments will likely tell you a lot about the circumstances and the persons involved.

I also check the "response" feedback from the person who recieved the negative. Did they retaliate, try to explain, or simply leave none in return?

One member I came across had one negative among many positive feedback. He in turn left positive feedback, apologized and accepted full responsibility.